


All that is physical

by Raindropsonmyeyelashes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/M, Fluff, High School, M/M, POV Castiel, Student!Castiel, Student!Dean, very cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 11:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9121396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raindropsonmyeyelashes/pseuds/Raindropsonmyeyelashes
Summary: It's not as though Castiel has an obsessive personality or anything; he just has the things he likes and the things he really, really likes.Castiel really, really likes Dean Winchester.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A slice of life (and pie) of Castiel and Dean in high school. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It's not as though Castiel has an obsessive personality or anything; he just has the things he likes and the things he really, really likes. For example, Castiel likes listening to classical music whilst he drives to and from school. He likes to paint pictures of sunsets whenever he feels the overwhelming urge to seriously injure his brother Gabriel, and he likes to order his pizza with extra cheese on top (this one was discovered accidentally when the take-out place got his order muddled up. Not that he was really complaining though, for the rather attractive pizza-delivery-guy they had sent more than made up for it- in fact, Castiel had been so distracted by him that he hadn't bothered to check his name tag, thus earning him a tile of 'the pizza man' forever more).

Then there are things that Castiel really, really likes and they will surely be his downfall. Castiel's love of reading has gotten him into more trouble than he would like to admit, both in school and out. It was often that he had settled himself down with the book of his choice and come back to reality only to realise that he had read the whole thing and hours upon hours had passed- he would be rudely shaken out of his trance by an annoyed teacher whose lesson he had not payed the slighted bit of attention to, thanks to the copy of Great Expectations in his lap. Once, he even found himself in trouble with the police, much to the hilarity of Gabriel, after he wandered into a closed off area in the middle of a rather compelling chapter. Additionally, Castiel couldn't go anywhere without the reassuring comfort of his trademark trench coat, something that had been with him since he was 12 years old and his small frame appeared to be drowning in the tan fabric. Gabriel had never understood Castiel's physical need to be in contact with trench coat and had proceeded to tease him mercilessly ever since- in his eyes, dressing like a tax accountant was for those over 30 and since Castiel was only 17 his point was made fairly clear. Castiel doesn't care though; the trench coat went wherever he did.

And then, well, then there is Dean Winchester. Castiel has had crushes before of course, but not like this. Dean and his brother Sam had started Lawrence High a little under six months ago; Dean being in the same year as Castiel and Sam being four years below. Castiel had been fascinated (not infatuated, Gabriel) since he first briefly locked eyes with Dean across a crowded corridor on his first day- Castiel remembers wondering whether he would be in any classes with this mysterious stranger, before green eyes flickered to his and the whole earth moved under his feet. He likes to think Dean was about to smile at him but in reality he'll probably never truly know, for the Referral Officer steered Dean away around a sharp corner. Then, Castiel saw him standing with slanted shoulders at the front of his Chemistry classroom and Mrs Davison introduced him as 'Dean': Castiel could have cheered.

Now, at this point Castiel had only seen the physical parts of Dean and, as Gabriel pointed out to him after he spilled all of the details under the threat of torture, Dean could have a horrible personality- he could, as much as Castiel would like to believe he wouldn't- befriend Alistair and the boys on the cricket team. The people Castiel had spent his entire high school life trying to avoid. They were not to be messed with, even if a large proportion of them were actually your biological cousins. Thank goodness for different surnames.

But, to Castiel's pleasant surprise, Dean did not befriend them. Not really, anyway. Sure, he's nice enough to them and speaks back if he is spoken to first, but he doesn't really go near them otherwise. Dean appears to be friends with everyone. One day he would sit with Benny, Kevin and Jody for lunch and the next day he would sit with Jo, Ash, Charlie and Alfie. Some days he would sit with Victor and Gordon. Some days he would sit with his brother and his friend Jessica. Once, he even sat with Ruby, Anna, Bela and the twins Lisa and Ben, although to be fair Castiel hasn't seen him sit with them again since. Castiel tells himself that the reason why he keeps dragging Chuck and Becky to the back of the science building to eat every lunch time is because he's trying to avoid Alastair and his gang, not because he's terrified that Dean will sit with them next.

At first, he thought that Dean seemed to flutter around everybody because he was new and hadn't found who he really wanted to be friends with, but as time went on it became increasingly clear that this wasn't the case- it's like the whole high school status quo thing doesn't apply to him at all. Dean has his interests, sure, as Castiel quickly finds out, but he doesn't truly fit anywhere. It amuses Castiel endlessly that someone who is outstanding at chemistry can also be excellent in languages; how someone who's so good at sports flat out refuses to join any of the school teams. Castiel managed to earn himself the title of 'nerd' pretty quickly and this seems to generally be the case for most people at Lawrence high: if you're pretty and popular you're a cheerleader; if you're buff, play sports and like to push people around you're a jock. If you can sing, dance or act you're a drama kid. If you can work a computer you're a computer geek and if you, like Castiel, excel in all subjects and your locker is stuffed with books, you're just an all-round nerd.

None of these titles describe Dean at all. It's like he is his own new brand of person, if that's even possible. To Castiel, Dean seems like he would fit in any of those groups (except for the computer geek one, because Dean is horrible at using a computer), especially the cheerleader one- there's only one boy so far and that's Ben, but he's nowhere near as pretty as Dean.

Unfortunately, Castiel hasn't actually got a reason to talk to Dean at this point, despite how much he longs to get to know him- Castiel's habitual fear of being seen as a creep keeps him from going out of his way to run into the other boy and start a conversation with him. Instead, he remains quietly content with just observing from afar. In fact, he actually learns quite a lot from just watching Dean. Castiel learns that, much like himself and his trench coat, Dean is never without his worn leather jacket- whether he's actually wearing it, holding it bunched up in his hands or draped over the back of one of the lab chairs in their shared Chemistry classroom. It also quickly becomes clear that Dean's weakness is his brother, Sam. When Sam began being teased the way new students are generally always teased, Dean was there telling them to back off with an intimidating stare that can only have been mastered after years of facing bullies. Castiel distantly wonders if that's a common occurrence for the two Winchester brothers.

The longer the Winchesters remain in Lawrence High, the more obvious it becomes that not only does Dean not conform to the general sections of interest, he also refuses to. One could interpret this as him being cocky or insinuating that he's too good to be grouped the way other teenagers are, but Castiel just finds it unsettlingly endearing. Besides, he thinks that if Dean had a real problem with it all, he would do something about the fact that Sam fell into the 'nerd' category almost as quickly as Castiel did, despite the younger Winchester's good looks and large stature that holds the hidden promise of stretching to a great height one day. Sam really isn't far off Dean's height, something that Castiel is sure doesn't settle well with his older brother.

The only brief interaction Castiel gets with Dean is in Chemistry and he's not afraid to admit it's something he looks forward to every day. Dean sits two seats ahead of him at the very front of room, right next to Mrs Gregson's desk. It was the only free seat in the room, not like Dean seems to mind as it looks as though he's mastered the art of charming the pants off a teacher that usually spends her time frowning like an upside-down Cheshire Cat. Despite her flaws, Mrs Gregson knows that Castiel likes to work alone while everyone is comfortable in pairs- recently though, he begins to wish he hadn't told her that, if only for the chance of working with Dean at some point. In reality he knows he'll likely make a fool of himself in front of Dean, but still, entertaining the idea is often enough to get him through the hour, even when Alistair decides to show up (it's usually once a week) and flick droplets of Hydrochloric Acid on his hand through a pipette every time he walks past. Castiel chose his desk with the single goal of not being close to the chemical cabinet, but Alistair always goes the annoyingly long way round in order to walk past his desk at least twice. Sometimes, Castiel wonders if Alistair actually knows that they're distantly related. He guesses not, certain that Alistair would rather set himself on fire than be a known relative of Castiel Novak.

About three days before the end of the Christmas term, lessons have slowed down considerably- even the teachers seem to be lagging and instead trying to find something to fill in the time, rather than actually moving on with the syllabus. Most of Alistair's 'cronies' as Gabriel calls them have simply given up and stopped coming altogether, giving Castiel a welcome break from their teasing. On this particular day, the art department have organised a field trip to some art gallery further out in Texas (Castiel doesn't really care to know where, he only knows about it at all because of Anna), which a surprisingly large proportion of his chemistry class have gone on. Mrs Gregson is nothing if not stubborn, so despite only six people actually being in, she refuses to call the class off. They're making Copper Sulphate crystals out of Copper oxide and Sulphuric acid, which is something Castiel has done many, many times before but decides to grit his teeth and bear it under Mrs Gregson's promise of extra credit. That, and the fact that Dean is one of the six people left behind. Any notions of Dean not turning up are quickly squashed in Castiel's mind, and he seems as enthusiastic as ever about this abysmally boring experiment. Although, he supposes he's just humouring Mrs Gregson, if anything. The class sets off without a hitch, and they all wordless begin to gather the necessary utensils and chemicals. Castiel decides to get his chemicals last, something that only becomes a problem when he realises that Dean has done the exact same thing, and is now standing in the chemical cupboard, exactly where Castiel needs to be. Sure, Castiel could just wait for him to move... but that would be weird, right? Surely someone would notice that his desk is full of everything he needs except the two chemicals. On a whim, he forces himself to get up and walk over there.

Dean's just turning around to leave when Castiel gets there, and he almost walks straight into him. He looks uncharacteristically surprised and Castiel just mutters a quiet 'sorry' under his breath and then mentally curses himself for being so awkward. This is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation, and he just blew it. Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Dean has other ideas. "It's no sweat, dude." He says, chuckling and Castiel just kind of stands there, not sure what to say, waiting for Dean to move as he's blocking the cabinet's entrance. Dean must mistake Castiel's awkward silence for confusion as he suddenly says "I'm Dean" like there's a chance Castiel doesn't know who he is.

"I know." Castiel replies. For a moment, Dean looks as though he's torn between saying something else and walking away and in a bid to make him stay a bit longer, if nothing else, Castiel says "I'd shake your hand but..." and gestures to the two bottles Dean is holding. Dean laughs then, but Castiel suddenly feels eyes on the back of his head and turns around. The only person looking at them is Mrs Gregson, the rest of the class have clumped together at the desks in the corner, engaging in a semi-loud conversation. When Castiel looks back at Dean, the other boy is peering around too, as though trying to find whatever Castiel was looking at. Castiel chuckles, because he can't help himself.

"Don't worry, Mrs Gregson just hasn't heard me speak before that's all." He laughs as he says it, wondering where the hell that came from- although it's partly true, he never imagined that he would say something like that, let alone in front of Dean Winchester. He curses himself yet again, wondering if his lack of verbal filter is part of the reason why he's never had a serious relationship. Luckily though, Dean laughs again and moves aside for Castiel to enter the cupboard, as though he's abruptly realised what Castiel was actually standing there for.

"I'm sure that's not true," Dean says from behind him. Castiel fights the urge to jump in surprise, having assumed Dean had returned to his seat, and turns around with the two bottles clanking together in his hands. Before he can voice his confusion however, Dean speaks again. "I've seen you talking to Chuck and Sophie..." he trails off, a slight pink tinge colouring his cheeks. Castiel just stares at him for a second, admiring the way the additional colour makes his green eyes pop, and mutters 'Becky' so quietly he's surprised Dean even hears.

"What?" Dean says, clearly confused. Castiel notes the way he's transferred the two bottles of chemicals into one of his hands, while he subconsciously chews on the nails of the other. Castiel wants to bat it away.

"Becky. Chuck and Becky, not Sophie."

"Oh!" Dean says, smiling but rubbing the back if his neck out of what Castiel assumes is slight embarrassment. He just smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring manner and walks back to his desk with Dean close behind him. They don't speak for the rest of the lesson, much to Castiel's disappointment, but Dean passes him as he leaves and calls 'see you 'round, Cas!' at his retreating form. No one has ever called Castiel 'Cas' before, but he finds that he quite likes it. Cas didn't even know that Dean knew his name.

The next day, Cas is once again spending his lunch hour sitting with Chuck and Becky in science block. In summer they sit outside, just behind the building by the car park, but since it's almost freezing outside they've occupied the small space under the stairs leading up to the higher levels and eventually the open study hall. Cas' encounter with Dean has been fresh in his mind since it happened and he's found himself wondering when, or more likely if, it will occur again. It's only been ten minutes but as most lunch hours spent with Chuck and Becky go, Cas is sitting against the wall, throwing a small rubber ball at the bricks in front of him while his friends sit abnormally close together and talk about television shows Cas has no interest in. Suddenly, he hears the outside door open and looks over to see who it is, ready to get up and dash if it's the principal or one of the dinner staff. Technically, they're not meant to be sitting in here during break times, especially not eating. Luckily though, it's neither. It's Dean Winchester. Cas is openly gaping at him, partly out of surprise at seeing him again so soon and partly because he's holding a a bright blue plastic lunch box with a map of the world printed on it. Dean doesn't seem to see them, instead he begins running up the stairs, two at a time. Cas doesn't have the faintest clue where he's going, but he doesn't have chance to ponder it long before he hears loud footsteps once again and Dean's practically flying back down towards them. Cas throws the ball against the wall around about the same time Dean rounds the corner before the last few steps and he must hear it, peering around the banister to look at where the three of them are sitting. Cas doesn't notice that Dean has spotted him at first, he's too busy looking distastefully at Chuck and Becky playing tonsil tennis. Dean's laugh is what alerts him to the present situation.

Cas has no idea what his face looks like in this moment- it could be surprise at Dean noticing him, or it could be the same disgust carried over from observing the scene in front of him, but either way Dean's suddenly standing right beside him with his hand out stretched. "Want to get out of here?" Dean says and for some reason Cas nods. When he takes Dean's hand, it's warmer than he expects. A jolt of electricity shoots through him at the feeling of the other boy's skin on his- the only thing suggesting that Dean feels it too is the slight hitch in his breath. Cas doesn't notice. Cas does feel slightly guilty that he's just leaving his friends like that, but they're too wrapped up in each other to even notice if he passed out and died in front of them so the feeling doesn't stick around for too long. Especially not when Dean's walking right next to him, telling him that his _dumb little brother Sammy forgot his lunch in the car again_ like they were friends, and good ones at that.

"Where are we going?" Cas asks eventually, when he finds his voice, but inwardly thinks that Dean could take him anywhere and he wouldn't mind. They stop in front of a car in the car park, Dean's car, Cas notes and the other boy turns to him. They're standing close together and Cas is ever so slightly shorter than Dean, forcing him to look up at him from under his eyelashes. Dean swipes his tongue over his bottom lip and Cas breathes in deeply.

"How about we go get some pie?" Dean whispers, in an oddly erotic manner that Cas is sure was unnecessary for a dinner plan declaration. He nods anyway, but minutes must pass before Dean moves. Dean's looking at him in a way that would usually make Cas want to shrink up inside himself, but there's something about his stare that lights him up inside. Strangely, he feels as though he can do anything as long as Dean keeps looking at him like that. When Dean's eyes flicker down to his lips, Cas realises that at some point he moved his own hand up to grasp at one of the lapels on Dean's leather jacket and he thinks _oh golly, we're going to kiss_ as Dean starts to lean in. The moment is broken when a strong gust of wind sends them both shivering. Dean smiles at Cas almost sheepishly and opens the door for him. Dean starts driving and he also starts talking. Cas doesn't mind, he finds it endearing- Dean tells him that the place they're going has _the best buttermilk pie in the universe_ and lots of other things that Cas is too busy staring at him to listen to. He's sure Dean's realised, but if he has he doesn't comment on it.  
  
The pie place isn't somewhere Cas would have thought about going before, but now that he's there he realises that it fits Dean's personality to a T. He briefly wonders if he's going mad, but as Dean insists on buying him a chocolate orange dessert along with his own buttermilk pie because _c'mon on Cas, you've got to try something_ he knows he doesn't care. The heat of the store is making Dean's face flush slightly- a glance in the reflective counter tells him that he's suffering the same fate. When Dean leads him out back into the winter air, he forgets all about it.

Dean drives them to a secluded field behind the local park, pulls out a blanket from the trunk and sits on the hood, waiting for Cas to join him. Once he does, Dean drapes the blanket over both of their legs. When they've both eaten their pies (it was delicious) they somehow end up playing Twenty Questions. It's very tame, not at all like what Gabriel had told him about, and Cas is able to fill out more and more information about Dean in his head with each passing question. It turns out, Dean's mother died when he was very young ("so did mine.", "Wait, really?") and he lives with his Uncle Bobby because his dad travels a lot for work, which is why him and Sam used to move around so much. Cas tells Dean about his large family ("You're all named after angels? Awesome!") and before they know it they've defiantly gone past twenty questions and lunch break is definitely over. Dean cringes when he realises the time and starts to apologise, but with a surge of bravery which he has no idea where it came from, Cas leans up and kisses him right on the lips. There's no hesitation- Dean kisses back immediately and Cas' mind whites out at the feeling of their tongues battling against each other. Dean starts smiling at some point, which sets Cas off as well and they break apart with grins up to their ears. Dean kisses him again quickly, somehow leaving Cas more flushed than before, and offers to drive him home.

It takes Cas longer than he'd like to admit to get out of the car once they pull up to his driveway (Dean's lips are very distracting, okay) and _that is definitely Gabriel peering out of the living room window_. At some point Gabriel must realise what Cas is doing because he starts cheering and, well, Castiel is cheering too. 

 


End file.
